Julie R. Vacura

Armed with a reputation for success, partner Julie Vacura is a true force in the courtroom. She approaches every case with uncompromising attention to detail and embraces all her clients with unwavering loyalty. Be it real estate, business or commercial disputes, in settlement or at trial, her strategy is the same: exceed her client’s expectations.

Professional History

Practice Areas:

Julie’s trial work focuses on commercial, real estate, banking, and insurance coverage litigation. She also acts as an arbitrator for the Arbitration Service of Portland, and as an expert witness on attorney fees and attorney malpractice

Admitted to Practice:

Oregon; Washington; U.S. District Court, Oregon and Western and Eastern Districts of Washington; U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit

Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers; Oregon Super Lawyer (2007-present); U.S. News Best Lawyer for Commercial Litigation, Real Estate Litigation and Banking and Finance Litigation (2011-present); “AV Preeminent” Martindale-Hubbell ranking

Representative Cases:

Won a multi-million dollar jury verdict in favor of a shareholder client who brought a derivative shareholder lawsuit against another shareholder for breach of fiduciary duties and conversion

Obtained summary judgment on behalf of a New York based clothing manufacturing client in a breach of contract case involving trademark disputes

Won a defense verdict for a national bank after a jury trial on claims brought under the UCC for negligence

Won a multi-million dollar jury verdict on behalf of a closely held company in a derivative shareholders lawsuit in state court, prevailing on claims of breach of fiduciary duty and conversion

Won a defense verdict for a regional business client after a jury trial in federal court in a multimillion dollar action alleging misappropriation of business opportunity

Obtained a jury defense verdict in federal court in favor of a national bank in a case involving claims brought under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act and Oregon Unfair Debt Collection Practices Act, in which economic, emotional distress and punitive damages were sought

Won a jury verdict in state court in favor of a national company on its claim against a competing business for breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing

Represented a large credit union in a multimillion dollar complex commercial case involving liquidated damages under a contract termination clause. The case was settled on terms favorable to the client prior to trial in federal court in Washington

Obtained an arbitration award in favor or a California LLC in arbitration of a dispute with a Washington real estate developer over a multimillion dollar sale of a shopping center for damages resulting from the developer’s breach of the land sale agreement

In a complex commercial case, obtained summary judgment in favor of regional business client against its insurers for failure to defend and indemnify

Obtained summary judgment in favor of client on a trademark infringement case

Represented 17 homeowners to recover real property damages resulting from a landslide caused by improper excavation and other construction errors. After four weeks of trial the homeowners settled on highly favorable terms

Represented five homeowners to recover real property damages resulting from soil subsidence caused by improper excavation and other construction errors. The client settled on highly favorable terms shortly before trial

Represented five homeowners whose homes were destroyed or damaged when an antique jet flying in an airshow crashed into their properties. In response to our motion for summary judgment, the court ruled that the airshow operator was strictly liable for the crash and vicariously liable for any negligence of the pilot. The court also rejected defendant’s defense that the claims are preempted by federal law. Two weeks later, the case settled on favorable terms for the homeowners

Julie has also tried a number of real property disputes involving claim’s of adverse possession, quiet title, and trespass

Julie is a frequent CLE speaker on a broad range of litigation topics including derivative shareholder actions, expert witness depositions, summary judgment, cross-examination, direct examination, and opening statements and closing arguments. She has spoken at CLEs sponsored by the Oregon State Bar, Multnomah Bar Association, National Business Institute, Oregon Law Institute, and Oregon Women Lawyers. Julie has also acted as a mentor to attorneys through the Multnomah Bar Association Mentoring Program and Oregon Women Lawyers